Ruihatomowoyobu
by Shiromasha
Summary: The Shinsengumi are called to the scene of a hideous murder involving a couple of Jouishishi who have connections with the Hitotsubashi faction, the opposing faction of the Tokugawa faction. To solve this case the Shinsengumi and the Mimawarigumi forms an alliance to find the culprit. Is it a serial killer on the loose or is there something much bigger going on? M for blood&gore.
1. Solving murder cases can be a bother!

**A/N: Just a little something-something I've been writing. **  
**Summary: _The Shinsengumi are called to the scene of a hideous murder involving a couple of Jouishishi who have connections with the Hitotsubashi faction, the opposing faction of the Tokugawa faction. To solve this case the Shinsengumi and the Mimawarigumi forms an alliance to find the culprit. Is it a serial killer on the loose or is there something much bigger going on? _**  
**And there you have it. **  
**Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama and I do not gain any profit from this fic.**

* * *

"What the hell happened here?" the Chief of the Shinsengumi, Kondo Isao, asked his Vice-Chief, Hijikata Tōshirō. "Aren't these the Haiekitanku brothers?"  
Hijikata squatted down next to one of the deceased, lifting up the white sheet that had been put over the deformed face. The killer hadn't exactly taken it easy on these men. On the man Hijikata was currently looking at, the eyes had been cut out, leaving dark and bloody holes. There were also small cuts under the lips, on the cheeks, and on the forehead. As for the body, it had several stab wounds. The neck had been the most abused, but not lethally the coroner had told the Vice-Chief before he entered the room. That was just to torture the deceased. The legs had been broken in horrible ways; the ebony white bone from the right leg stood out like the ugly duckling did. Though, the ugly duckling became a beautiful swan, and nor the leg or the man would ever be looked at as beautiful. The only remaining organ was the heart which had been sprayed black by some unknown substance. These guys were black hearted, all right, Hijikata thought, but aren't that taking it too far, or is this a message? He turned to look more carefully at the man's face, if you could call it that.

"The fingerprints certainly match. This one," he put the sheet back over the deformed face, "used to be Haiekitanku Unchi, the eldest. He was the leader and the brain, while his younger brothers, Nyō and Hedochi, were the muscles. Can't say they were exceptionally skilled, though the guy they were up against weren't new to killing, either. Hell, he's probably done something like this before. Just look at the way they've been cut.  
According to Yamazaki they had plans to kill our Lord, Tokugawa Shige Shige, and now this happens."  
Kondo pondered over what his colleague and close friend has just told him. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said with a stern face, "I don't understand."  
Hijikata sighed in annoyance at his boss' incompetence. Kondo might be the nicest person to walk on this Earth, but he was also an idiot, a big stalker of an idiot.  
"They died in a suspicious way, Kondo-san. Let's just leave it at that for now. I'll give you a report later," Hijikata told his boss who now had a much happier expression, clapping his hands like an excited child.

"That's so nice of you, Hijikata-san," a lazy voice said from behind, "doing the paperwork, I mean. Oi, everyone~, Hijikata-san just said he'd do all of the paperwork on this case so just leave everything to him~!" Okita Sōgo, Captain of the first Division shouted with a smirk. Cheers and laughter was heard on the premises of the death scene. It looked odd to the by passers.  
"Oi! Shut up, we're supposed to be working here! Ah, and Sōgo, could you take a step back?"  
"Huh? Why?" the young man questioned the older like he usually did.  
"Just do it."  
"Hijikata-san, I don't want to step in human feces like others," he shot both Hijikata and Kondo a glance as he said 'others', and Kondo started to protest and admitted that the only feces he would be willing to step in would be in Shimura Tae's feces, "but I am going to step up and tell you that this wasn't done by your average Joe Shmoe. This was done by a professional, or perhaps professionals. One can wonder, though, what's up with the display of the intestines? And the bodily fluids?" the young Captain wondered, looking around from the blood covered floor and walls to the bodies with sheets on them. Even for a sadist like him this was brutal.  
"Regardless of how many there were, these people or this person needs to be stopped. What will Hitotsubashi Nobu Nobu-sama say when we tell him that his family has been put down like animals? The people favoring the Hitotsubashi faction will probably point their fingers at the Tokugawa family considering they were the ones who were the target of these idiots. More and more people are siding with Nobu Nobu-sama these days." Hijikata spoke in a low voice, it wasn't that he didn't trust his men, but there were ears everywhere these days.  
Surely, the young Hitotsubashi lord would question what happened with his distant cousins, and he would probably want the answers as quickly as possible. He wasn't known to be a patient man. Hijikata had never met the guy; he'd only seen the young lord from afar. It was something cold about the young Hitotsubashi man, he had noticed, something Hijikata couldn't quite put his finger on. One thing he was sure about; Hitotsubashi Nobu Nobu was a very dangerous and influential man, and he usually got what he wanted.

"My, my… if it isn't Hijikata-san, Kondo-san, and Okita-san."  
Hijikata recognized that voice, that voice belonged to the man who never seemed to be interested in anything besides sending mail or texts. "I didn't expect to see the three of you here. You should have told me, I could have sent you a text that I was on my way and I would have bought donuts for you all." Sasaki Isaburo, the Chief of the Mimawarigumi, typed away on his cellphone, his eyes never left the small, red device in his hand. Hijikata was amazed by how fast the elite were typing, though he would never admit that to anyone.  
"Sasaki-dono, what brings you here? Don't you have better things to do?" Kondo asked the other. His voice sounded irritated which was unlike the Chief, Hijikata noted.  
The Mimawarigumi Chief stopped typing, though he did not look up. "Well, I had to come here and see for myself. This kind of murder-,"  
"Slaughter," Okita corrected in that usual lazy drawl of his.  
"Right, slaughter," Sasaki eyed the young Captain for a moment before he continued speaking. "Like I already said; I had to come and check it out. It's not often we get these kinds of cases, the Jouishishi prefers blowing things up, not," he used his free hand and waved it, gesturing to the grim environment, "slaughtering (as Captain Okita so nicely put it) their own people."  
"These weren't in any particular faction. The only ties they had would have been with the Hitotsubashi family."  
Sasaki's brown eyes met Hijikata's blue for only a second before the both of them looked away from the other. Needless to say; none of them liked each other. Sasaki put away his phone, and with a sigh he said, "I see," and turned his face to look at the bodies. Hijikata didn't trust Sasaki Isaburo for one second. The man was a menace. These murders were a menace. And now the Shinsengumi and the Mimawarigumi had to work together. It didn't sit right with him. It was as strange as a man without a nose; unnatural.  
None of the Shinsengumi officers liked the Mimawarigumi, they were a bunch of snobs waving their swords with diamonds in their hilts thinking that they were better than the Shinsengumi who had, against all odds, managed to become one of Edo's top police force. And here these white clothed idiots were, sneering at them like they were a bunch of idiots.  
"Che…" Hijikata walked out of the room reeking of shit, humiliation, and death. "I'm heading back to the barracks, call if anything comes up," he told Okita and Kondo.  
This is going to be a tedious case, the Demon Vice-Chief thought, and entered one of the police cars. In the rear-view mirror he saw Sasaki Isaburo talking with a man wearing a beautiful white kimono with red flower petals. At first, he didn't recognize the man, but then he turned his face ever so lightly…  
Hitotsubashi Nobu Nobu, huh? So he came, after all.

"Did you see the crime scene? I heard those Jouishishi were slaughtered as if they were animals. Their intestines had been pulled out and strewn out on the floor in a sick display. The smell of feces and, if you believe it, other bodily liquids hung heavily in the air. Even Captain Okita had to step out, or so I've been told.  
The Chief and the Vice-Chief got chewed out by Matsudaira; apparently these Jouishishi had family ties with the Hitotsubashi Nobu Nobu, and he wants the Shinsengumi to fix this. I just don't understand why the Hitotsubashi didn't go to the Mimawarigumi? I mean, aren't those guys allies? What?! Are we going to work with them – again?! Oh, man…I hate those guys…"

The Shinsengumi officers gossiped like old women. Hijikata had often reprimanded them for it, even threatened them, though that was normal behavior for the Demon Vice-Chief. The strange thing was that this time he did not yell at them or threaten them; he said nothing. The same did the Chief, and the first division Captain. They were all quiet; no one said anything about the incident with the curious case of the dead Jouishishi members. Though, one couldn't really call them that. Katsura Kotarō had apparently no connection to the Haiekitanku brothers.  
Rumors and speculations were all that was talked about, some even believed that it was the work of a serial killer, but that had been debunked by the Mimawarigumi Vice-Chief, Imai Nobume, when she had threatened to cut off anyone's balls, regardless of their affiliation, and sell them on the black market. The rumor that the Mimawarigumi was behind it went around the Shinsengumi premises, spreading like wildfire.  
"Don't be ridiculous. Those are some mean bastards, but no way would they ever be able to do something like that," had the Vice-Chief told his men when confronted with this rumor. Most believed him, but not everyone.

**[~*~]**

"So," the coroner, Wabisuke, clapped his hands together, smiling fondly at Hijikata and Okita, "I believe I can tell you what the murderer used to kill them." Wabisuke was a grey haired man in his late 50's. His hands were calloused, wrinkly, and his fingers were long. They looked more like claws and less like fingers; Hijikata had thought when he first met the old timer.  
"Great, what did he use?"  
"A spyderco hawkbill."  
"Gesundheit."  
"No, that's the name; spyderco hawkbill."  
"Oh."  
"Yes, it's not a very common weapon, you can't buy it everywhere. In fact, only a few shops here in Edo sell them." The coroner slowly and carefully pulled out a strange shaped knife from under the examination bench. The blade looked like a bird's beak, and the hilt was white with an amethyst colored stone. It looked quite sharp, too.  
"What a fancy knife," Okita mused, his eyes shining very much like the diamond itself, reaching out his hand so he could inspect the weapon more closely. "Though, what's with the hilt? Isn't this a bit too much bling for a knife?"  
"Did you just say bling?" Hijikata asked rhetorically.  
"Well, yes… and no. This is an old model, believe it or not, and I think this was a gift. You don't see many of these types, most people just wants them for their collection of special knives or swords. No one ever uses them, at least, not until now. This is the first time I've seen this being used as a murder weapon here in Edo. Ah, young people with their murdering and partying." The old man smiled at the knife Okita still was holding with a certain fondness that could only be compared to a parent's smile whenever their child did something that made them proud. Hijikata never thought that a simple knife and the mentioning of killing could bring that kind of smile out of a man. Though, Hijikata often smiled like that whenever he saw a new, unopened bottle of mayonnaise in the fridge.  
"I didn't know you had so much knowledge about knives, Wabisuke-dono," Hijikata said, walking over to the belongings of the late Haiekitanku Unchi. A wallet, a pair of reading glasses, a katana, and a piece of paper Unchi presumably had written himself. Wabisuke laughed and told them that he'd always had a fascination with knives ever since he was a child.  
The piece of paper didn't tell them much; it was only a shopping list. Mayonnaise was not on the list, Hijikata noticed. He put the note back down on the iron tray, and went over the other items. Nothing out of the ordinary with the glasses or the katana, but in the wallet he found several treasures. A fake ID, a credit card, a map to the Shogun's castle, and – BINGO! – a business card. It looked simple enough, and maybe it belonged to the murderer? When Hijikata turned the card around he stiffened a little. The ever sharp Okita noticed this, and asked what it was (and if he had pooped in his pants).  
"Well, no… it's nothing serious, but…"  
"But what?" Okita asked the Vice-Chief who was being more of an oaf today than usual.  
Hijikata held the card for Okita to see, his face had twisted into some creepy grimace, a mix between a grin and a scowl while his eye twitched. "Look, Sōgo, look at the name."  
And so he did. Okita's mouth formed into an 'O', blinking a couple of times. "You don't think Danna has something to do with this, though? He's hardly a killer." But Hijikata wouldn't listen. The sooner he got the man whose name was on the business card out of the investigation the better. That man, too, was a menace, perhaps even the worst of all of the men in Edo.  
"Take him down to the station; I'll go over the other bodies with Wabisuke-dono. Now, Sōgo."  
"Fine, fine," Okita raised his hands as if to protect himself, and nodded to the old coroner before he strolled out of the room to find the man and bring him in. Okita hoped the man would put up a fight, though it was only wishful thinking.

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**And that's the end of the first chapter. **

_**-Teehee~.**_


	2. Solving a murder is still a bother!

The man was brought into one of the interviewing rooms. He had made a commotion, Okita told, and cursed the Shinsengumi for all it was worth, which wasn't worth much in the first place. No one particularly liked the Shinsengumi. Hijikata wished he never noticed the business card; he hadn't expected to find the Yorozuya boss' business card on a murder scene. Sure, the man was fishy, but Okita was right. He didn't have it in him to do something like that. At least, that was what Hijikata believed. He still had no choice, he was ordered by Matsudaira Katakuriko himself that he was to question this man. Get him to confess or get him out were the orders. Hijikata wished for the latter. However, the first wouldn't be so bad, either…

"He's ready, sir," Yamazaki Sagaru saluted his boss, "And he's in a very foul mood."  
"Isn't he always? Have he said anything yet?"  
"No, sir."  
Hijikata scratched the back of his head, and took out a cigarette, lighted it and sucked in its poison with closed eyes. He blew the smoke out of his nostrils, his head throbbed painfully. He hadn't even talked to the suspect yet, a suspect that would without a doubt give him a major headache. Without saying anything else, Hijikata entered the interviewing room where the suspect sat, grinding his teeth and shouting curses to the invisible people in the room.  
"Huh? What the hell are you doing here?" the silver haired man roared. "I didn't ask for the Mayora, I asked for a lawyer. A LAWYER!"  
Hijikata sat down on the opposite chair, resting his arm on the small table in front of him. "Why do you need a lawyer? Are you guilty with something?"  
The silver haired man made a grimace, "No! I'm not guilty! You can't keep me here, you asshole!"  
"I'll just ask you a couple of questions, and answer them truthfully. If you don't cooperate I'll throw you in for assault on a police officer," he knew the other would talk, not eloquently, but talk, nonetheless.  
"Che! Fine! Ask away, Hijikata-kun~," the man said mockingly, and tried to fold his arms across his chest, but that proved difficult as he was cuffed to the table.  
"First of, say your name and look into that camera over my head."  
"I'm Sakata Gintoki and I've been accused of something I'm hundred percent sure I didn't do."  
"What didn't you do?"  
"… Nothing worthy of getting cuffed and prosecuted as a criminal, that's for sure."  
"Have you been in contact with a man going with the name Haiekitanku Unchi?"  
"Who? Is that really his name?"  
"Yes. Haiekitanku Unchi, do you know him?"  
"No, I don't. What, did he say that he know me?"  
"He hasn't said a thing, and he won't be saying anything, either."  
"Well, Hijikata-kun, I have no idea who that guy is. Can I go now?"  
"No, you can't. What about his brothers, Nyō and Hedochi, ever heard of them before?"  
"Are you being serious with me? Are those really their names? Who would name their kids that?"  
"Just answer the question!" Hijikata snapped.  
"Sheesh… No, I haven't heard of those, either. What did they do that makes you so interested in them?"  
Hijikata understood that the Yorozuya boss had no idea of who these guys were, or used to be. "They've been killed, and amongst Haiekitanku Unchi's belongings we found your business card," Hijikata tossed the white card on the table for Gintoki to see. He picked it up, cocking an eyebrow, and shrugged.  
"So? Anyone can get these; I got a deal with the old timer at Tenny's. I helped him out at his restaurant and he'd pass these out to the customers for me. That's it."  
"That sounds like a lousy deal."  
"Well, it caught the interest of the Shinsengumi," Gintoki gave the Vice-Chief a fake smile, and tossed the card on the floor. Hijikata sighed in annoyance, whenever the Shinsengumi got their hands on a big case this permed idiot somehow always got involved. Was he cursed? Was the Demon Vice-Chief cursed? Nah, he didn't believe in curses (or rather; he didn't _want_ _to_). "Will you let me go now?"  
"No, I'm not done questioning you, yet. Trust me, I'll tell you when to get the hell out of here."  
"Are you sure about that? I'm starting to think you just want me here because you're lonely. Are you lonely, Hijikata-kun? Don't you get any comfort from sniffing that mayonnaise crap into your brain?"  
"WHO'S SNIFFING MAYONNAISE INT—," Hijikata straightened himself out. Gintoki had a triumphant smirk on that stupid face of his, he knew how to push Hijikata's buttons, how to anger him. However, the Vice-Chief wasn't going to let the silver haired man have his fun. "Mayonnaise is a healthy substance, it clears your mind, makes it easier to think. Anyway, I'm not here to ask you about the wonder that is mayonnaise-,"  
"It's no wonder; it reeks, it's disgusting, that's what it is."  
"_Shut up!_ I can throw you in jail, you know!"  
"Ooh~, I'm shaking in my boots. Hey…I'M ALREADY CUFFED TO A TABLE, THOUGH! AT LEAST IN PRISON I CAN WALK AROUND, JERK OFF, TAKE A PISS, AND EVEN EAT! DO YOU EVEN HAVE FOOD HERE?! HEELLOOO~!"  
Hijikata kicked the noisy samurai in the shin under the table. He didn't mean to lose his cool, but it was difficult when being around this guy. Why couldn't he be cooperative, just give Hijikata what he wanted? Oh, no, of course he couldn't. The man was as annoying as a mother nagging about you cleaning your room even though you said you would do it later, and then late at night she'll come in while you're spanking the monkey which will be embarrassing for both, and will only produce more nagging and awkward questions.

With an exasperated sigh and a vein throbbing he exited the room with the screaming suspect. When outside Hijikata rested his back to the door with closed eyes, _Damn it…Damn it!_ he thought, and fumbled after his pack of Mayoboro. It was in the interviewing room. He cursed under his breath, this was not his day. Though, when was it ever?

"Any luck, Tōshi?"  
"Does it look like I got a confession?" he eyed Kondo. "He's as stubborn and intolerable as always, but he's telling the truth. But just in case, let's keep him for the night, get Sōgo to pin something on him."  
"Tōshi…" the Chief was fond of speaking to his subordinates as if he was their older brother. It was how showed he cared. That and he liked to put his arms around some of them.  
With a wave of his hand at his boss Kondo left with a rather pleased smile on his lips. Hijikata told Harada Unosuke to take the cuffs of the suspect seeing as they had no evidence to pin on the pinhead.

"You'll be hearing from my lawyers!" Gintoki shouted in Hijikata's face as he walked by as well as other light threats.  
"Didn't know you could afford lawyers, with your income just one is enough, right! You have a kid, right?!" Hijikata shouted back, regretting it immediately. The last thing he wanted was to act like _him_; like a child. Hijikata Tōshirō were no child, he was the Demon Vice-Chief of the Shinsengumi, the man who had written the Kyokuchuu Hatto all by himself.  
The Vice-Chief clicked his tongue, looking at the disappearing form of the ever annoying Sakata Gintoki disappear around a corner with an annoyed expression.  
"If you keep furrowing your brows like that you're going to look like Grumpy Cat."  
"I don't know what that is, Sōgo. What is it?"  
Okita smiled, everyone knew that when the Captain smiled something unpleasant was about to happen, or it had already happen, or _he was_ _planning_ something to happen.  
"_Danna_ is innocent."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yes, _Danna _isn't bright enough to do something like this. Or maybe he is, though I highly doubt it. He'd rather sit at that God-awful couch and pick his nose until he reaches his small brain."  
"What did Wabisuke-dono find out?" Hijikata pushed himself of the wall and headed to his chambers with Okita following behind him.  
"In one of the victim's ribcage, Nyō's to be more precise, he found a black rose."  
"How cliché."  
"You don't have to tell me that."  
"Doesn't a black rose mean death? No flower was necessary to tell us that those guys were dead. The intestines gave that away."  
"They're usually used in funerals which are why they have been linked with 'death', but it also stands for change. A new opportunity, so to speak."  
"Sounds fucked up if you ask me."  
"No one asked you, Hijikata-san. People don't like speaking to you because they're afraid you'll squirt mayonnaise at them."  
"Oi, commit seppuku, you damn brat." Hijikata sighed, "Change, you say? That doesn't bode well…"  
"Maybe the perpetrator put it there as a hint. They _did_ have family ties with the Hitotsubashi, and they seem eager to take over for our Lord. Hijikata-san, what are we going to do if the evidence shows that our Lord had something to do with this murder?"  
Hijikata stopped in his tracks, startling Okita a little. "Go through the old archive and see if you find something like this," was all that the Vice-Chief told Okita before he left him.  
"_There's no way our Lord would be involved in this_," he thought, pinching the bridge of his nose. It sure would be nice if this case just disappeared, or solved itself, that would be _terrific_. Alas, there was no such thing as self-solving cases, none that Hijikata had encountered, at least.  
What Okita had said bothered him; there was no evidence beside the black rose. Why a black rose? Had an assassin killed them and given the Shinsengumi a clue as to who was behind it? No, that would mean that the assassin wanted to get caught, and they didn't want that, right? Right…

Hijikata's phone started buzzing in his pocket. The caller ID said it was from Sasaki Isaburo. "This should be interesting," he muttered as pressed the green button. "Hello, Hijikata Tōshirō speaking."  
"Hijikata-san, I found something you would want to see."  
"Just tell me what it is."  
"No. Come down to the Mimawarigumi station and I'll show you myself." Sasaki hung up.  
He hoped it was worth it, and not because the Mimawarigumi Chief was a desperately lonely man who needed attention like an infant needed their mother. 

* * *

**Next chapter will be up sometime between Monday and next Sunday. **

**_-Teehee~._**


	3. If an opportunity arises - take it!

**This was supposed to be posted on Friday, but I was busy, and yesterday was Norway's National Day, and I didn't spend much time on the computer.**  
**Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama. **

* * *

He couldn't believe it; he could not believe it at all. _HIM_, a murderer?! It was ridiculous, but what else could one expect from the tax robbers? And who were these Haiekitanku people, anyway? He couldn't remember meeting anyone with that name, was it even a real name? It didn't sound like a real name. _Their parents probably hated them; I sure would never have named my kid that,_ Gintoki thought stifling a yawn. It had been three hours since he was released and he was still pissed about it. The stupid Mayora should have known that he would never kill anyone, not in such a grotesque way. Gintoki didn't want to think of himself as a paranoid man, but could it have been set-up? To find _his_ card there? Nah, that would be a little far-fetched. Besides, who would put it there? Most of his costumers were pleased with the Yorozuya's results, and when had he ever helped a murderer? He hated to admit it, but he was curious, and he wanted to know more about this crime he'd been accused of conducting.

"Zura, do you know the Haiekitanku brothers?"  
"It's not Zura, it's Katsura. Is that a trick question?"  
"No, why would I ask-, ah, never mind!" Gintoki sighed. "I was arrested this morning."  
"Why? Elizabeth, put that down!"  
"My business card was found at a crime scene, so the Shitsengumi brought me in."  
"They're dogs, they'll bark at anything that moves."  
"What?"  
"A crime scene you say? I can't say I've heard that name before."  
"Apparently, they were Jouishishi rebels. They could have used different names, you know. You have bunch of weirdoes in your group, right?"  
"They're not weirdoes, they're Samurai."  
"Are they? Are they, really? I thought all you guys did all day was to watch those lame commercials and play Uno."  
"I'm sure I've never heard that name before, and Uno is good for the soul, it also makes you a better strategist."  
"Yeah, no, it's just a game. Haiekitanku Nyō had my card."  
"Nyō? Shinjirarenai Nyō? Can't be… What did he look like?"  
"What's with these names? This is a joke, right? A very poor joke, right? And I don't know what he looked like; they didn't show me the bodies! I was interrogated by a moron who reeked of tobacco and mayonnaise!"  
"If I knew what they looked like I might have recognized them. I'll ask some of my guys if they've ever heard of them. ELIZABETH! I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH THAT, YOU'LL GET INFECTED AND THEN I'LL HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF YOU! HONESTLY, YOU ACT LIKE SUCH A CHILD AT TIMES!"  
"What are you, his mother?!"  
"Every child needs a mother."  
"Well, then you better find him one. And that's not a child, that's a big ass duck, oi."  
"That's not a big ass duck, it's Elizabeth."  
"Yes, yes, whatever. Just ask around for me. Be careful, though, whoever did that is not one to mess with."  
Katsura looked at Gintoki with a curious look, if Gintoki felt he had to warn him about this person then it wasn't someone to play around with. Katsura was always cautious; it was that which kept him out of trouble. Well, most of the time. Well, he was always _in _trouble, but he never got caught. "This sounds serious, Gintoki. Maybe you shouldn't meddle with this. Sometimes it's better to be ignorant and not know anything."  
"Oh, I see, so that's what you do, play dumb? That explains a lot."  
Katsura ignored his old pal's usual mocking, "I'm serious. If it's as dangerous as you makes it out to be… Who knows, maybe I'll be targeted next?"  
"Somehow, I doubt that. If they wanted to take you down without suspicion wouldn't they have killed you off first? That's what I'd do."  
"Good thing you're not the killer, then. I'll have Elizabeth scout out for a couple of days; she'll know where to look. That's what I love most about Elizabeth; she does everything right. Except from getting dirt on her," Katsura clicked his tongue, and sighed. "Children these days… Do you remember when we were young, we didn't play in the dirt."  
"For the last time; that's not a kid. Actually," Gintoki picked his nose, "I remember you 'falling' into a mud pit, and you didn't seem upset to me. You were a dirty kid, Zura, a disgusting little kid."  
"Noo! I did no such thing! I was pushed-,"  
"By your own stupidity."  
"By my own stupid-… Hey, you were the one who pushed me, weren't you?"  
"…Me? Noo~," Gintoki flicked the bugger off somewhere, and rested his arms on the back support of the bench. "I was a good kid, you were a stupid kid, and Takasugi was the annoying rich kid."  
"Well, regardless of who was who, we were all a little strange. Anyway, I'll get going. My drama starts soon and I don't want to miss the beginning. Mitsuko will reveal who killed the father of her unborn child who might inherit a large sum of money if it's the rich man's baby."  
"Sounds like crap. See you, don't get yourself arrested or killed."  
Katsura scoffed, "I'm uncatchable! They don't call me _Nige no Kotarō_ for nothing! Ahaha!"  
"Doesn't that mean that they just think you're a coward for running away?"  
"There's no dishonor in trying to save one's own skin."  
"I'm holding you to that if the end of the world is upon us and you come knocking on my door and want to join my team."  
"I would never join your team…and that's totally unfair! You're so mean some times, seriously!"  
"Don't make that face, it's creeping me out! You're acting like a school girl who's pissed at her boyfriend. Wait, doesn't that make me the boyfriend?!"  
"I would never be in a relationship with someone who drinks strawberry milk. If I were to be with someone it would be a Samurai, a warrior."  
"…Do you think about that often?"  
"…See you, Gintoki. Oi, Elizabeth, let's go home! My show's about to start!"

Katsura left Gintoki to his own thoughts which were in a disarray of confusion. He wondered if he should tell Shinpachi and Kagura about the incident, but he disregarded that thought. They would only ask questions he didn't have the answers to yet, and they'd offer (or demand) to help him. Gintoki didn't want to put them in any danger, so he decided it was better to keep them in the dark for now. He had no desire to visit the Shinsengumi headquarter again so soon, but if he could just get an idea on what happened at the scene, get someone to give him a few details, then he could wrap his head around it more properly. As luck would have it, a certain Shinsengumi member walked nearby and spotted the recognizable silver perm.

"Danna, what are you doing here on your own?"  
Gintoki turned his head, and looked at the young Captain. "Okita-kun, don't you have work to do?" Gintoki asked with little interest. Okita seated himself beside the silver haired man.  
"I always got something to do, but I thought I deserved a break."  
"And you decided to spend your free time with me? Can't say I'm honored."  
"You shouldn't be. Did Hijikata-san tell you anything about the case?"  
"Why do you ask? Is he keeping you in the dark or something'? Aren't you guys supposed to be a team?"  
"Well, I can say that I know more than you do. I talked to the medical examiner and the cause of death was a strange one. I can't talk about it with you, though. Hijikata-san would make me commit _seppuku_ if I did, I'm sure, and I don't want to that."  
"Aren't you always trying to kill him? It can't be that difficult?"  
"More than you'd think."  
"So, what will it take for you to spill something of use or interest to me? I don't have to pretend to be your friend, again, 'cause a few parfaits won't cut it this time. I'll take ten, and I want ten thousand _yen_."  
"I don't have that kind of money, Danna, but I'll give you something," Okita looked around him before he leaned closer and said in a low voice, "I think the Hitotsubashi sent someone to kill them. To me it's obvious it's them. Or someone who is claiming to be on our Lord's side, a double agent of some sort."  
"Hitotsubashi, huh? Hey, isn't the Mimawarigumi working for them, or helping them or whatever the hell they're doing?"  
"I can't really tell you much about them, they're not exactly a friendly bunch, but they could be. You know Imai Nobume, right?"  
"I don't _know_ her personally, but I've fought with her. She's crazy and sadistic, and quite possibly a female you."  
"Danna, there are no people like me."  
"And we praise the Lord for that. What about her?"  
"You could infiltrate the Mimawarigumi. Become pals with them and skulk around, listen in on conversations."  
"You do know that they know me, right? No way they'll let me in to join their ranks. I'm a former Joui member, remember? If they got the chance they'd kill me!"  
"But it would help us greatly, and you'll be rewarded if things go the way we want them to. I'm asking you nicely, Danna, at least take it in for consideration."  
"What will happen if things don't go as you want them to? What happens to me then?"  
Okita leaned back with a sigh, smiling a crooked smile, "You'll most likely die."  
"Uh-huh, you look really torn up about that."  
"It would certainly be boring and quiet without you in the world, Danna, but I wouldn't ask you of this if it weren't necessary. Give me a call if you change your mind, it would be quite beneficial for you, you know. This opportunity."  
"I heard you the first time," Gintoki said, annoyed. Okita didn't say anything further, he probably didn't feel like had to, Gintoki thought. "I have no luck," he mumbled to himself, sighing, and wondering why crap like this had to happen to him. Infiltration wasn't his expertise, but if he could convince that elite bastard to let him join in on the case, clean his own name or some crap like that, he might be able to wrap his permed head around it all. Maybe even find out who the killer is and get a big reward for it. The likeliness of a reward was depressingly low, but he could always hope. If that didn't work out, he could try and blackmail them if he got his hands on some juicy information that could hurt or worsen the Mimawarigumi's (or Shinsengumi's) reputation.

* * *

**Won't say for sure when the next chapter will be updated, but I can guarantee it will be uploaded this year.**

**_-Teehee~._**


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